I am considering a new tandem Island, but the spray looks to be excessive. Does anyone use the company fabric covers that cover your legs and chest ? Are they effective enough ? The spray skirts I see I hear work well, but also slow you down, and keep the nose from coming back up.

I would like to do day/night sailing and occasional camping with a friend. Will it carry enough gear ? How can dry bags be secured to the tramps ?? Is there a good LED light set up that works well with this boat ? What are the weak points on this boat ?... Every boat has them. Do they hold up well in rough seas ?

Sprayskirts don't cause the TI to nose dive, nor do they slow the boat down unless the boat does nose dive. Unless you are sailing long distances or doing serious fishing for many hours, you actually want the Sprayskirt to slow the bow if/when the nose does dive so you don't submarine. The TI actually doesn't dive anywhere near as much as the single AI does (which is a fun but wet boat).

TI diving and the slowing by Sprayskirts if it does are minor issues compared to handling the TI on land or controlling it in high wind conditions.

The TI is a great platform for overnight expedition-style trips. Check out the Hobie AIs and TIs in the Florida Everglades Challenge on the Watertribe website over the last few years. http://www.watertribe.com Be sure to read their information on required and recommended equipment... it's a good starting list of gear for any extended-style boating/camping trip.

A thought comes to mind... Sometimes I hear people say, "I hate camping." Upon further conversation, it comes out that they had a miserable time on the few camping trips they were on, and therefore "hate" camping.

However, it's my firm belief that people DO NOT hate camping, rather, they hate being cold, hot, wet, dehydrated, tired, hungry, sunburned, sandblasted, etc. That is, they don't hate camping, they hate being miserable.

With the proper gear (a space suit), you can go camping on the Moon... AND be warm, safe, & comfortable!

I mention all this because the TI is practically a dumptruck when it comes to hauling gear. Aside from proper wet-condition, seaworthy stowage, the only concern is overloading the boat, as it'll handle like a pig and stress the design.

With regard to the Hobie Dodger (the tent-like cockpit cover), I don't own one and doubt I ever will. If it's warm, I dress to get wet (100% synthetics). If cold, I wear a two-piece dry suit with a layer of fleece insulation and a synthetic wicking layer. Keep your in-camp clothes absolutely seperate from your sailing clothes.

To satisfy the USCG requirements for proper navigational lights, I use NAVISafe lights afixed to the main hull with RAM Mounts and/or Scotty Mounts. I even have one atop my mast for the white 360° anchoring light.

As far as spray skirts go, I do own some of Bob's custom-made beauties. I mounted 'em with black bungee so they look factory original. They're great, although I rarely need 'em on the TI.

All in all, with the right clothing, the right gear, and sufficient experience, you'll have a great trip!

By the way, do you live in Houston, or is that your last name? I live in Houston. Maybe we could hook up some time.

I live near Lake Superior in Marquette, Michigan. It is a very large and cold lake, so staying dryer is generally a good idea up here. I like to take passengers and I cant buy them all dry suits, so if there are some simple mods to make it drier then Im interested. Also, I like to go out as late and early in the season as I can so again, staying protected is always an issue. I have kayaked all winter as long as there is open water, but it was in a sit inside type and I always stayed dry. I would like to take a trip of several weeks, more ?... I like kayaks, I like sailing. So I also am thinking of a sit inside kayak with a sail as well. Not sure what is the best way to go. Also, how do you put a light on top of the mast ? where do you get dry suits, and bags for gear ?Also considering a windrider 17 sailboat. Kind of undecided.

To fit removable 360 degree white light to the masthead (the only legal lighting requirement in my locale), I first fitted a pvc pipe connector over the top of the mast, securing it with a self-tapper screw.I took the opportunity to add a plastic tube, into which a dinghy wind indicator fits, as shown.

I then cut a vertical slot into the connector, and used it to locate a small pulley for the top of my halyard. At the bottom of the mast I attached the other end of the halyard via another pulley, tensioned with shock cord.

The battery-powered masthead light fitting ha a small pvc mounting pipe which I cut down, and added two keyhole slots, with the wide holes facing towards each other.

To attach the unit to the halyard, I simply push two knots through these slots, which are retained by the narrow part of the keyholes.I then simply pull the light to the masthead with the halyard. A bonus is that the light illuminates the wind indicator, making night sailing much easier.